License plate
by Hello-PandaDreams
Summary: John has no sense of direction in his life. Three years since meeting the person he swears is the one and he's still hung up on the brief encounter. In a twist of fate, the pair meet again through the license plate on a fancy car. AU No trigger warnings yet, though I can't guarantee there won't be later limes.


I remember the day it happened as if it was yesterday, though that day was nearly three years ago. I've never forgotten his face.

They say when you meet 'the one' you'll know. I knew from the moment I saw him. It felt different from a silly lust and schoolyard crush. I felt at peace. Like I could be content just watching him forever. ...Seems almost stalkerish now that I think about it.

I'd like to think he felt the same, though. Even under those dark black out shades I could swear he was looking at me with the same kind of affection I harbored for him. No one's ever looked at me in that way. I can only define it as love.

The day it happened, the day I am referring to, was my graduation a little less then three years ago. It doesn't seem like a very long time. That is until I think about how most of my friends who had gone off to various tech schools are out by now, making far more than minimum wage. Where as I have been working a nine to five job as a checker for a busy yet mundane grocery store and at times have to skip buying food just to afford my apartment

But I digress. The 'he' I've fallen so madly in love with shall remain nameless. Of course he has a name, just not one that I know about. He was a new student, from what little I'd heard had moved from texas. It seems a little odd to be moving your child from Texas to Washington one month before they graduate, but who am I to judge their situation? He quickly gained popularity, a player among the women and a 'bro' to the men. All useless accomplishments. As far as i've found out he didn't leave anyone with any contact information. Not a facebook, a snapchat, an email, phone number. As quickly as he had come into our lives, he had left that day. I knew only one thing about him- But that will come later.

How is it we went to the same school and I was clueless to his name? I couldn't tell you. Perhaps another addition to the unlikely string of events. I was never good with names. More the likely I had heard the name before and forgotten. The social aspect of school life was never my forte. And he had never been in my classes. If I could do it again I would have memorized how to spell it forwards and backwards and never forgotten.

It was just after the graduation ceremony - Everyone was piling into their cars and preparing to head off to graduation parties with family and friends. My cousin and I had decided to go out to lunch to celebrate on our own without the company of any other annoying family members. I too was walking to my car. An old and ugly thing I'd found for dirt cheap off of craigslist. It wasn't anything to be cherished or praised, but it got me where I needed to go around town.

It happened all so suddenly I hardly knew what was going on. One moment all was clear and I was walking across the parking lot. My phone had buzzed, a sign someone was texting me. Like a second nature I had looked down to check it, and when I looked up, a large minivan was merely a few feet from backing into me. Call me insane, but in those few moments my mind raced to those moments in drivers ed. 'Five children are backed every week in the US' they would say; a clever ploy to scare you into making sure you always turned your head when backing up. This person obviously learned how to drive from their parents rather than a drivers ed class. Or else they would have turned their head to see me.

The second thing that happened was just as unexpected and fast. A hand reached out to grab mine. With a sharp and forceful tug I was ripped away from the proximity of the car and into the arms of a stranger. ...By now you can guess who this stranger was. _My_ nameless stranger.

He smelled like how bedsheets do after you've been out all day and finally crawl into bed. The smell that makes you feel warm and sleepy by instinct. A comforting scent to be sure.

His arms were stronger than mine. He was thin and tall naturally but he seemed to work out regardless. He was still in his graduation gown. There was no way to look good in those things, but he seemed to take it in stride with his dark shades and cool hair.

It was at that time he said something, I couldn't quite make out what it was with the noise of someone chewing the driver of the car that had almost hit me behind me. After years of thinking back on it i've come to the conclusion it was something typical like 'Be more careful' or 'You should be careful'. Nothing amazing like a name or number. Getting caught up in the moment I hadn't known what to say. So I'd nodded and he'd let go carefully. And with a small careless wave that consisted all of putting his hand up in the air; he was gone. Well, not quite. I'd watched him getting into his car. A red camaro with the licence plate of 666 CAL. For some reason the image of the plate had always stuck out to me. I'd never known why this was, but now I see it as an act of fate.

It didn't just _feel_ like yesterday that I saw it. It was _literally_ yesterday when I had finished my shift for the day and had begun to make my way out of the store. I'd been fiddling with my keys and looked up only to notice a bright red colored camaro parked near the front of the store. I didn't think much of it at first. Bright red was common for fast cars like this. But somehow my eyes drifted to the plate on the bumper, and I swear I could feel a shiver down my spine at what it read.

666 CAL


End file.
